Golf has been a good game for Shelby’s Richard Degree. After picking up a set of clubs at age 19 as a way to spend some time with his grandfather, Degree rode his skills on the links to a college scholarship at Lees-McRae and later to a career that took him all over the southeast. “Once I started playing, I couldn’t stop. It was a challenge. I could never stop learning with this game,” he said. His love of the game brought him into a career in management, starting with a five-year stint at American Golf, a company that manages golf courses around the Charlotte area. “I started working on the carts and worked my way up to district manager,” Degree said. The experience he gained there opened up doors for him later in life as he took on resort and course management gigs in Charleston and parts of Florida. Along the way he still found time to play, making friends on the course whenever he could